Obituary Barbara Merguerian

Barbara Merguerian was a scholar, journalist, and activist. The daughter of immigrants from Kharpert province in Central Anatolia, she and her late brother Zaven were born and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. Her close-knit extended family survived the hardships of the Great Depression, the Hurricane of 1938, and the mobilization of the country during the Second World War. She was class valedictorian at Cranston High School and attended Pembroke College at Brown University as a first-generation college student, continuing to live at home while studying International Relations.

After earning her B.A., she began her career as an intelligence analyst in Washington, D.C., before attending Harvard University where she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Russian History. While at Harvard, she became active in the local Armenian community and met her future husband, the late Arshag Merguerian, at the then newly-established National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). She later became a journalist, first for the Patriot-Ledger in Quincy and then for the Armenian Mirror-Spectator in Watertown. She served two stints as editor of the Mirror-Spectator during the 1970s and 1980s, during which she developed a deep knowledge of the Armenian community locally, nationally, and internationally.

Barbara and Arshag settled in Wellesley, where they raised two daughters, and became active in Town of Wellesley civic organizations. They also continued to be active in the Boston area Armenian community for the rest of their lives.

Over the course of Barbara’s career, she served as editor of the Journal of Armenian Studies, vice president of the Society of Armenian Studies, and served on the Boards of NAASR, the Armenian Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Museum of America, the Armenian Assembly of America, and St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. She had a particular interest in advancing the study of Armenian women’s history.

Barbara was a guest lecturer at Yerevan State University, California State University Fresno, and Tufts University. Her published research on missionary work in the Ottoman empire and afterwards highlighted the role of women in the advancement of education in the Armenian community and in attempts to protect Armenians during the Genocide. Her work also called attention to the role of missionaries in supporting and revitalizing Armenian communities across the worldwide diaspora after the First World War.

She chaired the “Armenia and Armenians” exhibition at the Massachusetts State House in 1987 and assisted in the development of the Armenian Museum of America’s permanent exhibition on the Armenian Genocide, later collaborating on an installation about the work of the Armenian Legion volunteer corps in the genocide’s wake.

In 1991, Barbara, along with Eva Medzorian and the late Olga Proudian, established the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) where she served in leadership positions for over three decades. Under her leadership AIWA supported research and scholarship on women, drew attention to problems like domestic violence and equity in health care, and fostered Armenian women entrepreneurs. She spearheaded the organization’s scholarship program, growing it over time from its inception in 1996 to today. And she launched AIWA’s publications program—editing and publishing the “Treasury of Armenian Women’s Literature” series of English-language translations of works by pioneering women authors.

Barbara also organized AIWA’s international conferences around the world including in Yerevan, Buenos Aires, Paris, San Francisco, and London, bringing Armenian women together to share and draw strength from one another. She was also a driving force behind AIWA’s membership in the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women and attended the United Nations’ Fourth International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. As current AIWA president Silva Khachiguian says, “Her spirit and legacy gave life to AIWA and sustained its mission with clarity, courage, and compassion. AIWA’s ongoing voice and work stand as a lasting testament to her vision and determination.”

Barbara loved to travel and to attend cultural events with her husband Arshag particularly classical music concerts and the theatre. She enjoyed meeting new people, drawing them out, and hearing about their life experiences. She had a knack for finding people’s unique skills and strengths and how best to involve them in contributing to the community initiatives she was a part of.

Barbara is survived by her daughters Gayane Karen Merguerian (Malik Mufti) of Woburn, MA and Elaine Tamara Merguerian (Rick Morris) of Brooklyn, NY, granddaughters Setenay Ani Mufti and Lousig Angela Morris, and nephews John and Ed Merguerian of Glendale, California.

Funeral Services will be held at St. James Armenian Church, 465 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown on Thursday, July 16th at 10:30am. Visiting Hours will be at Giragosian Funeral Home, 576 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown on Wednesday from 5-8pm. Interment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery in Wellesley.